The present invention relates to the integration of computer networks and telecommunication services and, more particularly, to the provision of facsimile services, and especially automatic confirmation of the receipt of a facsimile message by the intended recipient thereof, within a computer network.
With the present commercialization of a computer network of networks, commonly referred to as the internet, a variety of businesses have started to offer electronic mail (e-mail) and other services for computer users. In general, e-mail provides a rapid and relatively inexpensive means of communications between computer users. In some sectors, e-mail communication is rapidly replacing traditional telephone and facsimile communication. Within some computer networks, users who transmit e-mail messages can determine whether those messages have been transmitted to their intended recipient and even, in some cases (e.g., within local area networks), when those messages have been read.
One problem with e-mail communications, however, is that relatively large files may not be easy to share between users. For example, large files are often included as attachments to e-mail messages. These attachments, if they exceed a certain size, may be stripped off by e-mail gateways, e.g., located at the front-end of a computer network system, before the message is passed to its ultimate destination. As a result, the ultimate recipient may not receive the intended message.
Another problem with e-mail messages transmitted via the internet is that important formatting information may be lost during transmission. For example, tabular data may be reorganized during transmission such that the recipient must reorganize the data into its proper tabular form before the message can be clearly understood. So too, graphic information may be lost and/or distorted during transmission.
Traditional facsimile messages avoid these problems. For example, facsimile messages transmitted across telephone lines retain all the formatting and graphical information of the original message. Also, there is no danger of portions of a facsimile message being stripped off by a gateway prior to reception. Despite these advantages, however, facsimile reception usually requires a dedicated telephone line for connection to the receiving facsimile machine. In a large corporation or other office, it is impractical to provide each member of the office with dedicated facsimile reception capabilities, thus, facsimile services are shared amongst a number of users. This poses a problem where confidential information is to be received by facsimile. There can be no guarantee that the intended recipient of the facsimile message will be the only one who will observe the confidential facsimile message.
Like some e-mail systems, some means exist for a facsimile user to determine whether a facsimile message was transmitted and, in some cases, for receiving an automatic confirmation of a successful reception of the message. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,017 describes a method and apparatus which allows for confirmation of facsimile message reception and transmission quality wherein a series of signals between source and add destination station, both having confirming modes, ensures the appropriate confirmation of facsimile transmission.
Thus, although some means for providing confirmation of facsimile message reception exist, these means tend to require that specialized facsimile machines (or upgrade kits) be employed at both the sending and receiving ends. Also, although some vendors do offer partial integration of facsimile services and e-mail services, in these systems users must each be assigned individual telephone numbers, thus leading to difficulties where a large number of users must be accommodated. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a system which combines the advantages, while avoiding the disadvantages, of facsimile message confirmation and e-mail communication systems within a single system.
The present invention provides, in one embodiment, a method which includes automatically transmitting a confirmation message to a first user of a computer-based facsimile station, upon receipt of an indication that a first facsimile message transmitted by the first user has been accessed by an intended recipient thereof. The confirmation message may be a second facsimile message (e.g., a predetermined message or a copy of a cover sheet or first page associated with the first facsimile message with a confirmation indication superimposed thereon). The indication that the first facsimile message has been accessed by the intended recipient may be provided by the intended recipient accessing a web page (or other computer storage location) where the first facsimile message (or, in some cases, an image thereof) has been stored. To allow for the automatic confirmation provided by the present invention, during receipt of the first facsimile message, the facsimile station identifies the source thereof, for example, through an automatic number identification (ANI) field provided as part of the transmission of the first facsimile message. The source identification information is stored at the facsimile station and may be later used to dial up the source of the first facsimile message so that the confirmation message may be transmitted thereto.
In further embodiments, the present invention provides a method which includes automatically transmitting a confirmation message to a first user of a computer-based facsimile reception station, upon transmission of a notification message that a first facsimile message transmitted by the first user has been received for an intended recipient thereof. The confirmation message may be a second facsimile message (e.g., a predetermined message or a copy of a cover sheet or first page associated with the first facsimile message with a confirmation indication superimposed thereon). The intended recipient may share a single telephone number with a plurality of facsimile users and may be uniquely identified by a unique identifier appended to the shared telephone number.
In such embodiments, the identification of the source of the first facsimile message may be accomplished using identification data (e.g., an ANI) provided with the first facsimile message. This identification data may later be used to transmit the confirmation message. For example, the identification data may indicate a telephone number where a confirmation facsimile message may be directed. Alternatively, the identification data may be used to access a database to locate another communication address associated with the source of the first facsimile message. This may be accomplished, for example, using a look-up table which associates the identification data with a corresponding communication addresses of the source of the first facsimile message (e.g., an e-mail, telephone, cellular telephone, voicemail box and/or pager number or address). The first user may thus be notified that the first facsimile message has been successfully received by the facsimile reception station by the transmission of a confirmation message to the appropriate communication device at the first user""s associated communication address. The confirmation message may comprise a second facsimile message or another message (e.g., a voice or data message) which indicates the successful reception.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides a computer which includes receiver circuitry for receiving a facsimile message destined for an intended recipient.
Coupled to the receiver circuitry is an identification unit which is configured to associate identification information with the facsimile message, the identification information indicating the source of the facsimile message. A notification unit is configured to transmit a confirmation message to a communication address associated with the source of the facsimile message, for example, upon receipt of the facsimile message by its intended recipient. The confirmation message may be in the form of any voice and/or data message. For example, the confirmation message may be an alphanumeric message transmitted via e-mail or to a pager and may comprise a receipt confirmation (e.g., xe2x80x9cFax received.xe2x80x9d or a similar message), a facsimile message itself, a voice message delivered to a telephone, and/or a message indicating a computer network address (e.g., a URL) which identifies or specifies a location (e.g., a web page) at which a user associated with the source of the facsimile message may inquire as to whether the intended recipient thereof has reviewed the facsimile message. The URL may identify a web page associated with the computer or a web page associated with some other storage device. In general, the identification unit of the computer comprises a mapping function configured to receive the identification information and to provide therefrom a communication address associated with the source of the facsimile message. The mapping function may be embodied in a look-up table stored in the computer (e.g., in volatile or non-volatile memory) or it may comprise a storage device wherein automatic number identification data associated with the facsimile message (e.g. received as part of the same transmission) is retained for later use. The notification unit may be configured to transmit the confirmation message to the communication address provided by the mapping function. The computer may also include a storage archive for received facsimile messages.
In still another embodiment, the present invention provides a shared facsimile message reception system which includes a computer configured to receive, from a single telephone connection, a plurality of facsimile messages, each destined for different users of the system. The computer may also be configured to provide confirmation of such reception and/or confirmation of the receipt of the facsimile message by the intended recipients thereof. In general, confirmation of a particular received facsimile message is provided by way of a confirmation message transmitted to a communication address (e.g., as a voice, data and/or e-mail message) associated with the source thereof. The confirmation message may comprise a computer network address (e.g., a URL) of a web page where a user associated with the source of the facsimile message may determine whether the intended recipient of the facsimile message has reviewed the message.
In yet another embodiment, a subscriber-based facsimile message reception system includes a facsimile reception station configured to receive, across a single telephone connection, facsimile messages for a number of subscribers and to confirm successful reception of the facsimile messages by the intended recipients thereof. The system may also include an interface for coupling the facsimile message reception station to a computer network, e.g., the internet. In general, the facsimile message reception station is configured to determine a communication address (or addresses) for the source of a particular facsimile message in response to an indication that the intended recipient of that particular facsimile message has been notified of the receipt of the message and/or has actually received the message. Such indication may be provided by the intended recipient accessing a web page at which the facsimile message may be viewed and/or down-loaded.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from a review of the detail description and its accompanying drawings which follow.